Monday, February 15, 2016

From Republic Services earlier this morning: " ... With the present inclement weather conditions, we would like to inform you that our Fairfax office and operations are closed today. With the storm coming faster and worse than expected bringing snow and ice, and with safety at the forefront for our employees and the community alike,closing was the right thing to do. Expectations for service will resume on the next regularly scheduled day (Thursday). "

Sunday, February 14, 2016

UPDATE MON FEB 15 AM: With snowfall at about the 2 inch service trigger depth, our contractor plowed HCA streets at about 9:00 this morning.

From NOAA National Weather Service Sunday afternoon: "Snow likely tonight after 1:00 a.m. ... less than one inch. Monday ... snow before 1:00 p.m. then snow and sleet ... freezing rain ... . New snow and sleet accumulation of 2-4 inches possible. Monday night ... freezing rain and sleet ... ice accumulation ... around 1/10 inch ... new sleet accumulation of less than 1/2 inch possible. Tuesday ... rain or freezing rain ... chance of snow showers." Last update from our snow removal contractor was Friday morning: " ... Our next round of winter weather will be passing through our area on Monday. ... this system looks like it has the potential to drop several inches of snow during the day before transitioning to freezing rain and then finally rain in the overnight into Tuesday. Plowing is anticipated during the day on Monday and will commence when accumulations have reached approximately two inches. Sand/salt/chemical applications will follow as required."

Fellowship Square Foundation Inc. (FSF) announced earlier this week that they have new plans to redevelop the Lake Anne I and II Fellowship House, adjacent to HCA Block 1 carriage houses. According to FSF, "... new construction will replace all 240 apartment units in the 1970s era buildings." The announcement followed a five month evaluation of two existing buildings by the Community Preservation and Development Corp. (CPDC) commissioned by FSF. The study concluded that existing buildings should be torn down and replaced rather than renovated because of "structural obsolescence" and that "excess land" would allow new construction. New FSF partner CPDC is described as a "... non-profit agency that purchases and revitalizes distressed low-income housing communities." It has helped redevelop other regional properties including Island Walk, a 1970s Reston 102-unit limited-equity cooperative developed by the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority that suffered from poor design, inadequate funding, deferred maintenance, and significant deterioration.

FSF and then-partner Novus Residences LLC originally said they could replace only 140 of 240 (114 subsidized) affordable senior units because of limited property value leverage, and because FSF/Novus hoped to build 285 new Lake Anne market value living units to generate revenues that would fund other FSF housing elsewhere. In response, Fairfax County indicated it would not continue to offer Section 8 housing vouchers to residents. FSF/Novus then said they would be forced to raise rents to cover increased operating expenses and loss of subsidy income. In addition, FSF/Novus plans that included large mid-rise buildings covering most of the North Shore Dr. existing buildings site and an adjacent currently undeveloped Village Rd. site, with a large above-grade parking garage along Baron Cameron Ave., resulted in a number of negative comments during a March 2014 RA Design Review Board public working meeting. The project has been on hold since late 2014. More information is available on a previous HCA website post.

Several HCA Members requested a post about mailing services that recently returned to Lake Anne following closure more than a year ago of a long time Contract Postal Unit within the former Lake Anne Pharmacy. Conveniently located within Chesapeake Chocolates, the new CPU just opened for business on February 1. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service reported that for every CPU opened it closed two, and profit margins are thin, so community support is critical to help CPUs generate enough revenue to make operation worthwhile. But then again, not every CPU is located in a chocolate shop within a Modern Architecture historic district.

The Hollin Hills Civic Association recently announced its 2016 House and Garden Tour, usually held every other year. Hickory Cluster Architect Charles M. Goodman FAIA designed 326 acres of Hollin Hills detached, single-family planned community homesites and homes in Alexandria, VA during the post-World War II building boom, years before his Reston, VA Hickory Cluster and Washington, DC River Park Mutual Homes multi-family projects. Tour-goers can easily identify architectural elements common to Goodman Houses everywhere. Hollin Hills is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Summarized from the NOAA National Weather Service forecast Friday morning: Snow possible today after 3:00 p.m., tonight, Saturday, Sunday night, Monday, and Monday night, with rain Monday night, Tuesday, and Tuesday night. Below freezing temperatures with blustery wind chills as low as -8F Saturday night and gusts up to 40 mph. From our snow removal contractor Friday morning: " ... this evening we are expecting snow flurries/showers. While the predicted amount of precipitation is negligible and plowing operations are not anticipated it is cold enough that whatever does fall will stick and potentially cause slick and icy conditions. We ... will be making sand/salt/chemical applications to combat any slippery conditions as required."

Monday, February 8, 2016

UPDATE TUE FEB 9 AM ... Big, wet, heavy snowflakes have been falling since about midnight, but mostly melting on plazas and streets. Cars are moving in and out freely. No plowing necessary ... yet. Block 2 photo caption time is one hour later than actual Daylight Savings Time. And from our snow removal contractor this morning: " ... As predicted temperatures never dropped below freezing overnight. ... and will reach a high of approximately 40F. Currently I do not foresee the need for any snow and ice management services ... ."

From NOAA National Weather Service for Reston on Monday morning: "Tonight, rain likely before 9:00 p.m., then rain and snow between 9:00 p.m. and midnight, then snow likely after midnight. Low around 31F ... snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Tuesday, snow likely before 3:00 p.m. then rain and snow likely ... new snow accumulation of 1-3 inches possible. ... A (40%) chance of snow showers before midnight Tuesday ... a (30%) chance of snow showers before noon Wednesday."

And from snow removal contractor Perfect Landscapes to HCA Directors also early Monday morning: " ... Temperatures are forecast to be above or right at freezing for much of the storm. Since this storm will start as rain, pretreatment of roads will not be effective. ... Our plan is to monitor the situation through the afternoon today (Monday) and overnight into Tuesday and dispatch snow plows when needed ... once snow reaches approximately 2 inches of accumulation on pavement. ... (if) temperatures get cold enough we may make an application of our Simple and Safe mixed with a bit of sand on Tuesday evening. ... "